Bagel Breakfast Casserole: A Make Ahead Recipe

Bagel Breakfast Casserole:

I love breakfast, but let’s be honest sometimes it’s just a pain to put something nice together for family. When I have a special occasion and I know that I’m going to be having people over or I need to feed my family something nice I make a Strata. A Strata is easy to make. You put it together the day before, refrigerate, and then bake the next day. Perfect for holidays, game days, and any day! I make several different types and I just tried a new take on the Strata. The breakfast casserole. If you like bagels, bacon, eggs and cheese you’ll love it!

It all starts with your bread base. I used 4 everything bagels. My husband picked up some nice fresh ones from the bakery in town. Basically, you can use any type of bagel you’d like. I think I might use just onion bagels next time! I love the onion bagel! You just toast them and cut them up into chunks. In a typical Strata you would any type of bread.

Once you have the bagel covering the bottom of the casserole dish you pour all of your ingredients (That you have mixed separately.) on top. That’s it! Cover with foil or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator till the next morning. First thing I do when I wake up is preheat the oven, make myself a coffee, and then I place my Strata/breakfast casserole in the oven. Cook for 45 – 55 minutes and serve! Once it’s been cooked you can save any leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days. That lets you also have a quick breakfast without waiting for an hour. It tastes great reheated. If the bread is completely covering the bottom you can pick it up and bite right in without even using any utensils. (That’s what I do when I want to grab and go.)

Well, I have to admit that I would have never thought to do this with bagels. They are always paired with cream cheese and lox in my mind. But it looks like a great recipe so will have to keep it in mind if I ever have leftover bagels.

I have a recipe on my blog for ham and egg cups, which are good warm or cold, but I love stratas too. I have never heard of a bagel strata and wouldn’t expect the bagel to work well, but you convinced me! We always have bagels when the kids are home from college, so this is going to happen — soon!